Beef rendang and flatbreads
Ahead of the big Wales vs Australia rugby match tomorrow, John Torode is in the kitchen with a crowd-pleasing dish sure to satisfy hungry fans at half-time; beef rendang with roti and cucumber salad.
Beef rendang
You can freeze the leftovers!
Feeds: 8
Ingredients
40g coriander seeds1 tablespoon cumin seeds1 teaspoon ground turmeric2 lemon grass stalks, bashed50ml vegetable oil3 large onions, finely chopped6 garlic cloves, grated6 red chillies, de-seeded and chopped2 thumb-sized pieces fresh root ginger, peeled and minced1.5kg stewing beef (shin is the very best), cut into pieces about 2.5cm square2 bay leaves2 x 400g tins coconut milk500ml hot strong veal or beef stock1 x 100g black creamed coconut
Method
Put the coriander and cumin seeds and the turmeric into a dry frying pan and roast over a high heat for 2 minutes. Grind to a powder using a mortar and pestle, then add the lemon grass and pound until it forms a paste and is as smooth as possible.
In a wok or a large pan, heat the vegetable oil. Drop in the onions, garlic, chillies, ginger and the spice paste and cook gently until the onions are softened and your kitchen starts to smell like Asia. Ass the meat and bay leaves, increase the heat to high and stir to coat completely in the spices and flavourings. Cook for a few minutes until the meat has coloured a little.
Add the coconut milt and creamed coconut, bring to the boil, then add the hot stock. Turn the heat to medium. Stir often, scraping the bottom of the wok wih a wooden spoon so the paste doesn’t stick. Over the next hour the liquid will simmer and reduce to become a thick sauce. It will need to be stirred constantly for the past 5-10 minutes or so, so that it doesn’t stick.
This is a dry curry: all the sweet coconut and spices should end up wrapped around the tender chunks of meat and there should be very little sauce. Keep cooking if it’s not thick enough.
Add rice, roti, cucumber salad and fresh herbs.
Flatbreads
Makes: 10-12 good-sized breads
Ingredients
325g plain flour1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon sugar1 x 7g sachet fast-action yeast100ml milk150ml plain yoghurt60g clarified butter or ghee, meltedsesame seeds (optional)olive oil, for brushing
Method
Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and mix well. Heat the milk until lukewarm. Reserving 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, add the rest to the milk, then add the melted butter or ghee and mix well.
Slowly pour the yoghurt mixture over the flour and mix well. Now knead for abot 5 minutes on a well floured worktop, until you have a springy dough. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the dough to rise ina warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Turn the dough out , slap it and it will shrink. Divide the dough into 10 or 12 even-sized pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Cover with cling film or a clean tea towel and leave to rise for another 15 minutes. Gently flatten the balls of dough into rough teardrop shapes and use a rolling pin, roll them out to about 1cm, and spread with reserved yoghurt.
Heat the grill to high and put a large baking sheet under it to heat for about 10 minutes
This recipe is taken from My Kind of Food by John Torode